Volleyball Opens Home Action Saturday Against Houston

September 15, 2017

Chelsey ChamberlainAsst. Communications Director

BATON ROUGE – After falling in the last two matches, the LSU volleyball team [8-2] is looking to get back on track as the Tigers open home play Saturday against Houston [4-3] at 1 p.m. in the Maravich Center.

Fran’s Final Thoughts“We’re excited to get to play at home. We have such a great venue and our fans always come out and support us. This is a great way to kick off the LSU sports weekend, having volleyball in the afternoon and football later in the night.”

“This is going to be a great experience for our freshman to get to step on that court in the LSU uniform for the first time. Our team has a point to prove on that court. We weren’t super successful on it last season, but this is a very different team. I think the fans will appreciate the style of play, the pace of play and the athleticism that we have on the team.”

“Houston is a balanced team that will come at us from all different spots. I know they are going to be very prepared and have a great game plan, which is why we play these games. The bottom line is that we have to play on our side. We have to clean some things up from that last couple matches that we have played and get driven and get back on our mission.”

Match PromotionsLSU Volleyball welcomes back all of those who participated in the volleyball summer camps and clinics. Also, fans have another chance to pick up the 2017 LSU volleyball poster, schedule card, and schedule magnets. Admission to all matches at the Maravich is free and fans are reminded to Geaux Clear.

The LSU volleyball team will also be collecting flood relief items to be brought to Houston. Donated items will be distributed to victims in southeast Texas including residents of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. At the request of those in need, LSU is asking for the following items to be donated on Sunday:

Bottled Water

School Supplies

Cleaning Supplies

Garbage Bags

Towels and Wash Cloths

Please note that any donated items must be new and still in the original packaging if possible.

Last Time OutOn Wednesday, the Tigers dropped a four-set match to Baylor by scores of 17-25, 25-23, 14-25 and 24-26. Although LSU out-blocked the Bears 14-5, the Tigers struggled to get offense going, hitting just .096 for the match which included 28 errors on 156 attacks with 43 kills. Taylor Bannister and Gina Tillis put together double-digit kills with 12 and 10 respectively. Tillis registered 12 digs for her fifth double-double on the year and her 21st in her career.

A Look at the Houston CougarsHouston is currently 4-3 on the season and is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Prairie View A&M. Along with the win over Prairie View A&M, the Cougars are on a two-game winning streak with their other win coming against Mississippi State by a 3-1 decision. The other two Cougar wins on the year came against Southern and Stetson by a sweep and a 3-1 deicision respectively. Brianna Lynch leads the Cougar offense with 3.10 kills per set. She is hitting .261 on the year and has a total of 90 kills in seven matches. Katie Karbo anchors down the back row with 5.52 digs per set, while Abby Irvine directs the offense with 6.21 assists per set.

Team Notes>> The Tigers are now 8-2 on the year which is the best start to a season since the 2013 season when the Tigers were 9-1 in their first 10 games of the year.

>> Freshman Taylor Bannister led the squad against High Point with a career-high 26 kills. She finished the weekend with a total of 58 kills and committed just seven errors to earn her SEC Freshman of the Week, the first weekly league honor since 2015 and the first Freshman of the Week honor since 2014.

>> Against Houston, LSU leads the all-time series 15-10. The last time the two teams faced each other was on Sept. 21, 2013. LSU came out with the victory om four sets by scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-19.

>> Of the 25 total meetings between LSU and Houston, nine of them have gone to four sets and 11 contests have been decided in three-sets.

>> In the SEC, Jacqui Armer is fourth in blocks per set at 1.39 while Raigen Cianciulli is ninth in the conference at 3.84 digs per set. Anna Zwiebel ranks ninth in the SEC with 9.19 assists per set. The Tigers are ranked third among the league in blocks per set at 2.63.

Follow LSU VolleyballFor all of the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsuvolleyball along with @lsuvolleyball and @lsucoachfran on Twitter and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram.